SWPA shortlists, Android friendships and Action Cam Adventures

Having just recovered from the excitement of MWC, we’re back to bring you the latest Android and Sony news and what a week it has been. First up, after a record number of entries (230,103 to be precise), from 180 countries, the shortlist for Sony World Photography Awards 2016 was recently announced for the Professional, Open and Youth competitions. Since the competition’s launch in 2007, over 1 million images have been entered, reinforcing its influence and prestige. This year’s shortlists include Liu Chengliang, China, Fan Li, China, Nick Ng, Malaysia and Stephan Zirwes, Germany. The winning and shortlisted images are due to be shown at Somerset House, London from 22nd April – 8th May. The photos will also be published in the 2016 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book. If you want to check the exhibition out for yourself, you can book your tickets online. You don’t want to miss out.

Moving on, you may have watched the Oscars on Sunday but did you see the latest Android advert making its big debut? After the success of Monotune, Android carries on the theme of ‘Be together. Not the Same’, leaving us with tears in our eyes as a cartoon Paper, Scissors and Rock join forces to beat the bullies. When Paper is bullied, Scissors lends a helping hand, putting their differences to one side. Paper then returns the favour for Rock, while Scissors cowers in the background. It’s impossible to be left unmoved.

You can see the advert for yourself below. Let us know what you think by getting in touch with us on Twitter.

Elsewhere this week, Sony updated its Theme Creator BETA tool, offering improved features. Not only does the tool now boast a brand new look, but also has an updated UI, additional customizable resources for Lollipop devices, editable lockscreen, and adb integration in Mac OS X. The Theme Creator BETA tool is used to create themes for Xperia smartphones and tablets. In this latest version of the tool, there are now over 500 customizable resources for Lollipop devices, the UI and resource tree have been made more user friendly, and extra tips and information are provided in your workflow. Here is everything you need to know.

Finally, this week it was time for a much needed catch up with Action Cam. Its latest adventure took it to Utah with biker Cam McCaul. With Action Cam at his side, Cam McCaul learns flip whips on his Trek Session Park bike before embarking on a trip to Utah. You can see his adrenaline fuelled action for yourself below